DMPTalks with Ruth MacKenzie

February 27, 2017

Given that the Canadian Association of Gift Planners’ National Conference is taking place next month, I thought that for this – our third edition of DMPTalks – Ruth MacKenzie would be an ideal person to initiate a conversation with. Since joining the national board of the CAGP almost two years ago, I have come to know Ruth, not only as a very effective CEO of the organization, but she has also become a good friend.

During my 24-minute discussion with Ruth I asked her a number questions including:

– Whom would you consider your role models when it comes to philanthropy?

– What was your most effective accomplishment within the charitable sector?

– If you were having a conversation with a planned giving professional, what would you be telling that individual he/she should be doing right now?

– Where do you see the planned giving sector going in Canada?

– What do you believe makes someone an effective philanthropist?

– Who was the most effective planned giving professional you have known and why?

– If you could solve any problem what would it be?

– If you could have one billboard anywhere in the world where would it be and what would it say?

Ruth and I at a recent Toronto CAGP chapter event

Sadly, we ran out of time before delving further into Ruth’s life as a co-owner of a micro brewery in Nova Scotia or how she spent every Saturday for a number of months protesting an exhibition at a major Canadian cultural institution. Even more tragic, we ran out of time to talk about her adopted donkey! With so much more material I’m sure I will have a “Part II” with Ruth in the future. In the meantime I hope you enjoy “Part I” as much as I did.